Elizabeth Warren Wants To Expand Social Security

Elizabeth Warren Wants To Expand Social Security

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14: Mailing people checks is something the government's great at.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Elizabeth Warren is taking advantage of newfound interest in her ability to shape debates to attempt a little shifting of the Overton Window today. Right now, the leaders of the Republican Party say we should cut Social Security while the leaders of the Democratic Party say we should cut Social Security only in conjunction with tax hikes on the rich. In a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon, Warren said nope we should be raising Social Security beenfits.

She doesn't offer a specific plan, and I think her nods in the direction of the CPI-E are probably not the way to go here. But I agree with the basic point. To make it work I think we need to ditch the accounting trust fund concept and link Social Security to a real sovereign wealth fund.